Lars
Laramie Barriga, more commonly referred to as Lars, is the main character of the cartoon space opera Lars of the Stars. He is the captain of the Off-Colors, a group of space pirates rebelling against the corrupt Gem Homeworld. Biography Lars' backstory, such as how he became involved with the Gem Homeworld, remains an enigma up to this point. Not much is canonically known about Lars' past. Appearance Lars' skin is an unusual shade of pink. He also has an unexplained scar over his right eye. He is tall and thin. Lars' curly, pink hair is styled into something like a mohawk. Lars wears a burgundy shirt, a long black cape, white pants, black gloves, and black boots. The cape's collar has a golden trim, while its interior is a reddish-pink color. Lars has gauged ears. For the Crew-Ships' stylistic reasons, he does not have "normal" ears. He appears to be a late teenager or young adult. Lars apparently ages slowly or is immortal, which may connect to his very slow heartbeat. Lars has never been seen eating or drinking, which suggests that he doesn't need to do either of these things. Personality On the surface, Lars seems to be confident, adventurous, and snarky in the face of danger. He delivers comebacks with ease and takes great joy in infuriating his enemies. Deep down, however, he questions his capability of being captain of the Off-Colors. This was fully acknowledged in After the Fact. In addition, although he may try to hide it in especially the earlier episodes, Lars can actually be very understanding, thoughtful, and empathetic. Usually, Lars will respect those who respect him. He is passionate about the message of the Off-Colors, which is that everyone should be able to live freely and not have to hide. Although he tries to not show it too much, Lars loves to do a good job and be responsible for successful missions. He is very happy when his friends depend on him. Lars can be cynical and is not afraid to say when something sucks. While this makes him seem pessimistic in the eyes of others, Lars thinks that he is only being realistic, believing that unrealistic optimism is up to Steven and from him would only result in false hopes. Lars hates having to run and hide from danger, even though it's sometimes necessary. Unfortunately, it can be hard for him to recognize this, which can inadvertently harm him or his crew. When Lars and his crew have to run and hide, he'll take it personally, angrily calling himself "weak" or even a "wuss". If one of his crew members or friends get in trouble, he will blame himself for putting them in danger. For example, in the episode Metallic Madness Padparadscha was poofed and trapped by Emerald, placing herself in the risk of becoming shattered. For a period of time, Lars was unable to get the Sun Incinerator out of the episode's space station and rescue her. This caused him to feel panicked about Padparadscha's well-being during the episode, knowing that he would feel extreme guilt if she was harmed. Lars felt that he was failing Padparadscha for being unable to rescue her right away. Earlier in the series, Lars is more gung-ho about his adventures with the Off-Colors. However, he gradually becomes more serious and mature as he learns more about Homeworld and the consequences of his actions. Also, Lars slowly becomes less snarky and more sympathetic towards hostile Homeworld Gems as he learns more about their often terrible lives on Homeworld. He reflects on many of his decisions in Lars' Shadow. During season 4B, Lars starts to become homesick for the Earth, but he is afraid of what people from his past would think of him, most notably his parents, Sadie, and the "Cool Kids". According to Lars, he was also more insecure while living on Earth, and he is afraid that going back there would revert him back to his old, more anxious ways. Nevertheless, Lars' homesickness and his Off-Color crew's excitement to experience Earth causes him to steer the Sun Incinerator towards the planet at the end of the episode'' A Small Leap for Gemkind''. Abilities * Dimensional Manipulation ** Pocket Dimension: Steven can enter a pocket dimension via Lars' hair. He can store items inside this pocket dimension and reach Earth with it, somehow with the help of his "pink lion" not yet seen on the series. Since only Steven is apparently able to do this, it's inferred that Steven is somehow connected to Lars' Gem-like abilities. ** Portal Creation and Manipulation: Lars can summon pink portals that connect to two non-adjacent areas. With these portals he can cover large distances, although too large of a distance can temporarily fatigue him. Lars can bring Gems and other humans with him through the portals. * Concussive Screams: When Lars screams, he can create pink rings that are able to knock down or destroy structures. * Water-Walking: Lars can walk on water. He shares this ability with Rhodonite, most likely because one of her component gems is a Pearl. * Supernatural Stamina: Lars does not seem to get hungry or thirsty. However, he can still eat and drink if he chooses to do so. In addition, he can walk and run without breaks for abnormally long periods of time. * Decelerated Aging or Immortality: In all of the Earth flashback episodes and hallucinations, Lars appears to be relatively the same age as what he is now. Since those events could be a number of years ago, Lars apparently ages slowly or is immortal, with his very slow heartbeat implying the former. * Immunity to Form-Disrupting Gem Technology: Due to Lars being organic, he is unaffected by Gem technology that is meant to disrupt a Gem's physical form, such as gem destabilizers or the walls of many Homeworld prison cells. He shares this ability with other organic lifeforms, like Steven and Connie. * Cooking: In Gem Cooking, Lars was revealed to be an excellent baker and cook. He was a fierce competitor in the aforementioned episode's bake-off and was shown to make many delicious dishes. * Wearing Long Capes: Lars often wears a long, black cape with relative ease. Wearing capes is harder than it looks since it's easy to get them caught on objects. Relationships Emerald In Emerald's earlier appearances, she seemed angry at Lars and the Off-Colors constantly meddling and ruining her things. However, during the episode A Green Idea, she revealed that she had hated her job as of late due to her Diamond having punished her greatly for failing to capture the Off-Colors and for one of her Peridots (Squaridot) becoming a traitor. Since then, Emerald has been an official Off-Color. Emerald seems interested in Lars, leading to the most popular ship on the show, CaptainShipping. She and Lars are great rivals. Emerald made many attempts to capture the Off-Colors and sabotage the Sun Incinerator (frequently reminding Lars that it was once her ship and that it's "the only reason why you miserable Off-Colors haven't been caught yet!"). Lars and Emerald customarily berated each other, and Emerald would even become disheartened if they couldn't have their typical repartee. Chasing after Lars and his crew gave Emerald a good challenge, and she proudly called herself Lars' archenemy. Aquamarine For a reason currently unknown, Lars has some animosity against Aquamarine. Likewise, Aquamarine conveys hostility towards him, who she refers to as "the" or "a" Lars. Initially, Lars and the other Off-Colors were wary of Aquamarine due to her looking large and imposing on their communication screen in the episode Strangeness. These feelings mostly dissipated after the discovery of her true size, although Lars somehow seemed less surprised than the others. Nevertheless, Lars knew that Aquamarine was a threat possibly from past experiences, so after a long series of events he confiscated her wand and kidnapped her with the help of the other Off-Colors in Short Temper. Aquamarine is usually the most reluctant to follow Lars' orders, perhaps because she never volunteered to be apart of the Off-Color crew and was kidnapped. She will often disapprove of Lars' decisions, believing her own decisions to be "the best" due to her naturally arrogant behavior. Aquamarine also believes that she should be the captain, much to Lars' disgust. Squaridot Lars and the other Off-Colors initially disliked Squaridot due to her alliance with Emerald. This alliance led to Squaridot's numerous attempts to sabotage and capture the Off-Colors much to their annoyance, with one of her and Spheridot's most notable sabotages being the releasing of hallucinatory gas on the Sun Incinerator in Distracted. As a result of this particular sabotage, Lars experienced a hallucination or dream that connected to his past on Earth, revealing that Steven once came to his past place of work to show him his "cat-fingers". Lars was confused as to why Squaridot's sabotage during this episode resulted in him re-experiencing this strange memory, but also angry that she would use such means of sabotage. In She Is, Squaridot seems to realign her moral compass and side with the Off-Colors, supposedly rebelling against Homeworld. Lars and the others warily welcome her but are confused by her sudden choices and change of heart. Lars seems unsurprised but still disappointed by the reveal that it's all an act. When Squaridot ambushes, poofs, and finally bubbles Spheridot during Narrow Escape before Spheridot could join the Off-Colors, Lars becomes very annoyed at Squaridot, sarcastically imitating her self-absorbed behavior and calling her a "clod" much like she often calls him one. This insults Squaridot, and she insists that she doesn't sound like that before making her exit. Squaridot, while teamed up with Aquamarine, is a pain to Lars and the other Off-Colors during the Season 3A Bingo Bombo, especially in the episodes The Star and The Arrow; ''this is because of Squaridot and Aquamarine sabotaging their ship's main engine and temporarily stranding them on liberated Ophidian 3 (as the two Gems' fusion, Apatite). Squaridot momentarily joins the Off-Colors in ''Square Root, but she becomes very critical of the Off-Colors' plans and causes a number of misunderstandings. Lars has to let her know that not everything can be easy and completely moral for everybody, and Squaridot realizes that her heart isn't yet with being apart of the Off-Color crew, prompting her return to being an independent rogue (which had been her status since after The Red Giant). Squaridot joins the Off-Colors for good in Lend a Hand after the lost of her limb enhancers and imprisonment on the Sun Incinerator. Lars jokes about Squaridot's now-smaller appearance, and he and Steven refer to her as an "angry cube of key lime pie". Squaridot angrily tells them that she does not appreciate their humor. Squaridot's imprisonment on the ship led to her learning more about each Off-Color, including Lars. There are still hostilities between the group and her, since she did sabotage the beloved Sun Incinerator and tried to harm the crew a number of times. Lars eventually allows Squaridot to become a technician for the ship, as long as she remains under the careful eyes of Fluorite. Lars seems to be happy that Squaridot was able to resolve her differences with Aquamarine in Rapid Fire. Spheridot Lars and the Off-Colors first met Spheridot in Distracted when she was helping Squaridot with sabotaging the Sun Incinerator, thus making her first introduction a hostile one. However, the Off-Colors minded her less than Squaridot since she wasn't nearly as determined to sabotage or capture them. During the episodes Double Dotted and Attack and Defense, Lars found it amusing that Spheridot and Squaridot don't seem to get along. When Spheridot shows her desire to join the Off-Color crew in Narrow Escape, Lars is happy and tries to welcome her into the group, knowing that she wasn't getting along with Squaridot and Emerald. He is disappointed when Spheridot is ambushed, poofed, and bubbled by Squaridot. Lars has yet to attempt to rescue Spheridot, perhaps because he is unable to. Padparadscha Due to her delayed reactions, Padparadscha often ends up in dangerous situations. Lars, along with the other Off-Colors, saves her from these dangerous situations like her abductions in Metallic Madness and Tell No More. Padparadscha trusts and respects Lars, and she will often "predict" the things that he does and say. To get to places faster, Lars will sometimes carry Padparadscha without protest. Lars made her the official technical advisor on the Sun Incinerator. Her power to predict the past can reveal crucial information, which Lars greatly appreciates. The Rutile Twins Lars and the Rutile Twins seem to get along very well. The Twins are vocal about wanting to live freely and not hide, which Lars heartily agrees with. In fact, living freely and not hiding is one of the core messages of the Off-Colors. In The Rutile Style, Lars supports the Twins' idea of wanting to throw a party for the five Rutiles first shown in Quintuple Dupe. He helps set up the party and tries to have all the Rutiles get along, which the Twins appreciate. The Rutile Twins like to enact justice and be helpful, making them wonderful crewmembers for the Sun Incinerator. They are usually very quick to respond to Lars' orders while working as the ship's pilots. The Rutile Twins find Lars' snarky comebacks hilarious, especially when directed at temperamental Emerald. Lars likes that the Rutile Twins try to be like gift-giving Saint Nick in Jolly Holiday. He appreciates when they try to give him a gift. However, as result of the Rutile Twins' Santa antics, Lars starts to wonder if a Space Santa actually exists. When the Rutile Twins' try to be like Santa for the second time in Space Santa, Lars decides to search for a real "Space Santa". Unfortunately, once it begins to seem possible that Space Santa is fake, his search starts to become obsessive. The Rutile Twins have to tell him to calm down and put off the search, noting that space is vast and that the elusive Space Santa could be many light years away if he exists at all. Fluorite Fluorite's grandmotherly demeanor extends out to all the Off-Colors, including Lars. Her extensive wisdom has led to Lars asking her for much-needed advice numerous times. While Fluorite's slowness can be grating, Lars and the other Off-Colors learn to better respect her lack of speed after the interesting events of The Speed of Fluorite. Fluorite is a loyal crewmember of the Sun Incinerator, with her role aboard being the chief engineer. As long as they don't involve the needless harming of gems, she supports most of Lars' ideas, often calling them "lovely". With Lars' help, Fluorite learned the magic of cooking in Gem Cooking. Although it was a strange experience, their bakeoff in the aforementioned episode led to bonding and the exchanging of scrumptious kitchen secrets. Rhodonite Lars made Rhodonite in charge of the Sun Incinerator's strategic operations. Overall, she seems to be content with this decision. Sometimes Rhodonite will be nervous about the job while other times she'll be gung-ho about it; it depends on the circumstances. If Lars is aware that Rhodonite is experiencing a panic attack or a bout of paranoia, he will usually attempt to console her the best he can once there's enough time to do so. This is especially true after the events of Two For One. In addition, when commanding Rhodonite to do certain tasks during missions, Lars will use a calmer voice than what he uses with the other Off-Colors, knowing that she easily becomes nervous. As a result of this kindness from her captain, Rhodonite respects Lars and is very loyal to him. Unfortunately, Rhodonite's fear occasionally overtakes her during stressful and violent situations, making her unable to protect herself. This forces Lars to risk his own well-being to protect her from the source of danger. In other situations like the one with the Ruby Squad in Square Terror, Rhodonite proves that she is entirely capable of fighting without help from Lars or the other Off-Colors, as shown when she nearly shattered the entire Ruby Squad in a blind fit of rage. In this episode, Lars was impressed by her fighting and initially happy that the outburst saved them all from being killed by the Ruby Squad. However, he later worried about Rhodonite's sudden violent emotions and the Off-Colors' (including his) willingness to shatter the Rubies. In The Rope Ends, Lars and the other Off-Colors try to console Rhodonite when she feels guilty about her violent actions during Square Terror. White Diamond White Diamond's first appearance in The Pursuit shows that she thinks the Off-Colors are terrible pests, especially Captain Lars. She hates when the Off-Colors liberate planets like Ophidian 3 and mess with her things, leading to her furiously chasing them in her debut episode. White Diamond and Lars are mutual enemies with very different moral views. Lars feels that she is responsible for most of Homeworld's problems, considering she is apart of The Great Diamond Authority. In Trial by Diamond, the Off-Colors are captured and put on trial in front of White Diamond, resulting in growing tensions between her and the group. Fortunately for the Off-Colors, Lars manages to escape the trial and hold their lawyer, Zircon, hostage. As a result, the other Off-Colors manage to escape as well, enraging White Diamond and making her even more of an enemy. The Ruby Squad In the Ruby Squad's debut episode, Squaring Off, Lars is initially fooled by the Ruby Squad's adorableness, believing that they are no real threat and calling them "cute". However, the Rubies prove to be deadly once they begin to madly track down the Sun Incinerator. The Off-Colors barely manage to evade them in the episode, now knowing that the Ruby Squad is a real, deadly threat. The Ruby Squad's third appearance in Square Terror is extremely hostile. The Rubies board the Sun Incinerator and try to capture the Off-Colors, but when this proves "not worth it" and "too difficult" they decide to make an attempt at killing the Off-Colors instead. Lars and the other Off-Colors are fine with Rhodonite trying to single-handedly shatter the Rubies in self-defense until Steven suddenly protects the Rubies with his shield and says that "shattering would make us the same as Homeworld". Although at first the Off-Colors don't believe Steven and think that shattering the Rubies would finally get them off their cases, they soon realize he's right and regret their willingness to shatter the Rubies. Lars orders the Rubies to leave the Sun Incinerator, which they fearfully comply to without hesitation. Homeworld Rutiles Steven Universe While Steven is a controversial character among fans, he and Lars seem to have a close, friendly relationship. Lars is rarely seen being hostile to Steven, and Steven treats Lars similarly. However, in Green Bubbles, it is implied that this was not always the case. This also links to the fact that Steven may have something to do with Lars' backstory. Concrete Concrete's alliance with the Off-Colors has led to amicability. Lars appreciates when she helps with missions; her personal spaceship has come in handy a number of times. He has to tell her to calm down in Red Pen, after she tries to repeatedly correct Steven in an attempt to be helpful. Lars and his crew try to visit Concrete in The Belt, which may be something they do often. Other Crystal Gems (Garnet, Pearl & Amethyst) Lars' relationship with the Crystal Gems is relatively unknown, but it seems that his relationship with Steven means that they are amicable towards each other. Connie Maheswaran Although Connie is a controversial character among fans much like Steven is, Lars and her have a seemingly friendly relationship. Lars doesn't know Connie nearly as well as he knows Steven, so their amicability may partly stem from Lars' close friendship with Steven. When Connie asks the Off-Colors for help in her debut episode Split Up, Lars and the others are happy to be of assistance. Lars finds it amusing when Connie tries to teach the Off-Color gems her family traditions in Traditions ''(an episode also known as ''परंपराओं). Lars appreciates when she helps with missions. Connie will often call these missions "space adventures", which can be either amusing or annoying to Lars depending on the situation. "BackStory Girl" Backstory Girl, perhaps called Sadie, is or was a worker at the Big Donut. While she and Lars are closely linked, it is not known how. It is known that they both worked at the Big Donut together through the pilot for Steven Universe, though this information may not have carried through to the series. Backstory Girl's name is confirmed to be Sadie in Space Marmalade. In addition, episodes from the Steven Universe spinoff further confirm that Backstory Girl's name is indeed Sadie. "Flashback Conspiracy Guy" Flashback Conspiracy Guy, perhaps called Ronaldo, first appeared in Green Bubbles during Lars' hallucination that involved a strange, gem-possessed lighthouse. In the hallucination, FCG attempted to sacrifice Lars--who was deemed by him "the package of darkness"--to the murderous, corrupted Gem possessing the lighthouse's walls, supposedly to "return the innocent Sadie". During this scene, Lars tried to remind FCG that they used to be friends, but then FCG accused Lars of throwing their friendship away. Next, FCG threw Lars into the wall possessed by the Gem, only to be saved by Steven and his bubble. Although it's currently unknown what exactly caused FCG and Lars to no longer be friends, FCG clearly dislikes Lars if he's willing to sacrifice him without hesitation. Episodes from the Steven Universe spinoff confirm that FCG's name is indeed Ronaldo. The Cool Kids The Cool Kids from Earth have been mentioned but not yet seen. When they are mentioned, Lars grows uncomfortable, suggesting that he has a past with them. According to Lars, he's afraid of what they would think of him were he to reunite with them on Earth, which shows that he deeply values the group's opinions. Martha and Dante Barriga Lars' parents seem to care about him very much. With the help of Steven, they sent him a package containing items that they believed he would want to have while in space. When they first appeared on a communication screen in Space Marmalade, they were overjoyed to see Lars. However, Lars' parents were initially confused and disappointed by Lars' decision to be a space pirate (calling him a 'burglar'), but they seemed to understand him better once he explained his reasoning to them. Still, they want Lars to return home to them. Memorable Quotes * "Bingo bongo!" * "You'll never take us alive, Emerald!" * Twins: "This is one of the weirdest planets we've seen."/ "The third weirdest." Lars: "Out of all the third-weirdest planets we've been to, this is definitely one of those." * "Why, Emerald, you're looking even pinker than me." * "Steven, the only emotion you can feel in battle is an edgy amount of seriousness." (Laser Light Cannon, S1A E14) Trivia * Lars used to be a regular at a donut store on Earth, called the Big Donut. This is confirmed when Steven said, "Sadie really misses you over at the Big Donut". ** In flashbacks from Green Bubbles and Distracted, Lars is shown to be working at a donut store, which is most likely the Big Donut. ** The girl in the flashbacks from Green Bubbles and Distracted, nicknamed "Backstory Girl" by fans, was revealed to be called Sadie in Space Marmalade. In addition, episodes from the Steven Universe spinoff further confirm that Backstory Girl's name is Sadie. * Lars' cape and outfit may be a reference to the character Captain Harlock, who is from the manga Space Pirate Captain Harlock by Leiji Matsumoto. * Lars and the other Off-Colors liberated a planet called Ophidian 3 in the episode Ophidian 3. Interestingly enough, Ophidian means "of or related to snakes". ** Ophidian 3 has a climate that allows a number of different reptile-like species to flourish. Lars is fascinated by some of the species on the planet that resemble snakes, suggesting that he likes snakes. * Lars has the catchphrase of "bingo bongo", which is accompanied by finger-guns. The catchphrase is feared among his enemies. ** It has been revealed that he initially said this catchphrase on Earth, in the Big Donut. This was revealed in Green Bubbles, after Lars experienced hallucinations/dreams that were based off his past. * Lars is an excellent baker, but he doesn't need to use the skill very often since he doesn't need to eat and is with Gems all the time. ** The package from his parents included a cookbook. Lars is shown to read it in his spare time. However, the cookbook wasn't revealed to be a cookbook until Gem Cooking. ** He helped teach Fluorite about cooking in Gem Cooking, which led to an interesting bake-off. ** in Bake Sale, Emerald convinced Lars to bake multiple desserts for her, misbelieving that food is the "ultimate human weapon". She ended up bubbling the desserts and displaying them around her ship to make it "stronger", much to Lars' amusement. Category:Characters